John Provis joined the Department in 2012 with a Chair in Cement Materials Science and Engineering. He took a combined BE(Hons)/BSc in Chemical Engineering and Applied Mathematics from the University of Melbourne, Australia, in 2002, followed by a PhD in Chemical Engineering from the University of Melbourne in 2006. From 2006 to May 2012 he was research fellow then senior research fellow, manager (2006-8) and leader (2009-12) of the Geopolymer and Minerals Processing Group and holder of APD and DORA fellowships, in the Department of Chemical & Biomolecular Engineering at the University of Melbourne, before joining the University of Sheffield.

John was awarded the 2013 RILEM Robert L’Hermite Medal “in recognition of his outstanding contribution to the research and development of geopolymers and other construction materials”, and holds funding from the European Research Council (Starting Grant “GeopolyConc”), as well as UK Research Councils, industry, and international sources. He is Chair of RILEM Technical Committee 247-DTA, and Associate Editor of the leading journals Cement and Concrete Research and Materials and Structures.

Research interests

His research centres on the development, characterisation and exploitation of advanced and non-traditional cement and concrete technology. Many projects involve alkali-activated and geopolymer binders, for use in construction, infrastructure and waste immobilisation applications. The range of topics covered include:-

Key projects and research impacts

Durability analysis and standardisation of alkali-activated cements and concretes, including leadership of RILEM TC 247-DTA

Local structural analysis of aluminosilicates via advanced beamline techniques, leading to the first detailed nanoscale understanding of the chemistry of geopolymer binders, and to the availability of novel tools and methodologies for nanostructural analysis

Development and characterisation of novel cements and concretes, including collaboration with leading producers of geopolymer cement and concrete nationally and internationally